Arjun Singh Baran and Kartk D Nishandar, the creators of the Sushmita Sen-starrer web show Taali, want to treat the topic as ‘a motivational human story’. ‘Our objective is to keep telling stories that the audience will relate to and showcase the common man or woman’s journey,’ said Arjun and Kartk. Headlining GSEAMS, which creates web shows, films and TV shows, Arjun and Kartk recently produced Rafuchakkar, starring Maniesh Paul, apart from Samantar on MX player and Rajiv Khandelwal-starrer Naxalbari on ZEE5. Ahead of Taali’s Independence Day release, we spoke to the creator duo about Sushmita Sen and Shreegauri Sawant’s bond and the motive of the show.

The Telegraph Online: From the first look to the recent trailer, Taali has generated quite a buzz. Are you surprised or was it as per expectations?

Kartk D Nishandar: Yes, we had expected but the best reaction was from the trans community. We are getting messages and the community is waiting for the journey to be told.

As creators, what prompted you to make Taali? Tell us what went into the research bit.

Kartk D Nishandar: Three years ago, before the Supreme Court verdict, the trans community wasn’t allowed to cast a vote. They didn’t have the right to a death certificate or a PAN card! They didn’t have an identity. We wanted to tell the nation a strong story. Shreegauri Sawant wanted to be part of the research. We have cast around 2,200 trans people in Taali. It’s a motivational story. We wanted to treat it as a human story. We wanted to make a commercial film with a relevant topic. Almost two years of research went into it. In the pre-Covid days, people mostly went to the theatres but post-pandemic, they started watching a lot of OTT content. So we wanted to tell a story to Indians and also take it across (through the streaming platforms). We got an actor (Sushmita Sen) who would play the role very well. Till now, we have seen transgender characters being played by men. This is the first time an actress of the stature of Sushmita Sen has played a role like this. The main idea was not to caricature it.

In the trailer, Sushmita Sen seems to own the character of Shreegauri Sawant. What prompted you to cast her as the lead?

Arjun Singgh Baran: We had a couple of names from the start but decided not to choose a man because it’s a story of a transgender mother. Only a mother can emote the feelings. Shreegauri is extremely beautiful and logical. Sushmita Sen has all these qualities.

When we were reaching out to people, Sushmita was the first to respond. She asked us to send her the script. She took a day and told us she loved the script. She wanted to read it instead of having a narration. She took her time. In the six months, she had multiple questions such as how we see the show as creators and our thoughts on it. She had specific questions about how we were going to show the character wearing a bra. She didn’t accept the role till she was hundred percent convinced. It took her six months.

The day she agreed, we stopped talking to everyone else. And when we started shooting, she knew each day’s shoot, the mood and the visuals by heart. She’s extremely dedicated. She went into every detail. The difficult part was she also expected us to be as prepared as her! (Laughs out loud)

How did the two strong individuals — Sushmita Sen and Shreegauri Sawant — bond off the sets?

Arjun Singgh Baran: Normally, when Sushmita is in a room, she’s the one who’s talking and we are listening. You want to listen to her more because she talks only logic and that too with rhythm. When both Sushmita and Shreegauri were in the room, it was mesmerising. It was amazing to see them together. They hit it off very well. Both are opinionated and speak so well. Shreegauri can quote from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and can connect to the topic we are talking about.

(L-R) Kartk D Nishandar and Arjun Singgh Baran

Why did you choose Independence Day to release Taali?

Kartk D Nishandar: The idea came from the JioCinema team as they wanted to give it a mega release. We thought what would be better and more inclusive than an August 15 release.

Do you feel Taali will make the audience think?

Kartk D Nishandar: Absolutely! The whole idea was to make a good show with potential for commercial success but we want the trans community to benefit the most out of it. We want them to be treated positively, as equals, and get employment.